14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
Is Final Fantasy 9 worth the $?
Date of Review: Dec 13, 2000
READ THIS IF YOU'RE DEBATING WHETHER TO SPEND YOUR MONEY ON FINAL FANTASY 9! (skip ahead to the end if you're in a hurry)
I have played the Final Fantasy series since Final Fantasy 5, and my mind has yet to be changed that Final Fantasy 7 is one of the greatest RPG's ever. With one of the most spectacular storylines, character design, extra secrets, and groundbreaking graphics (including CG's), it provided a standard that all other great RPG's should be measured by. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy 8 failed to meet this, for even with its breathtaking graphics and innovative combat system, had a terrible storyline with a bare minimum in character development. Squaresoft has brought forth Final Fantasy 9, with a nostalgic setting harking back to the
pre-Final Fantasy 7 days.
Storyline:
I have to start here. The storyline (to me) is the driving force in an RPG, the reason why you should play one and continue to play one for many hours. Final Fantasy 9's storyline starts off slow, moves to a medium tempo, and then stays there for a good majority of the game. Zidane Tribal, charming thief, kidnaps princess Garnet, and ends up helping her trying to help her figure out why her mother, Queen Brahne, has been acting so strange recently. In comes Kuja, magician from another dimension who is an evil weapons dealer. Solution? Kill Kuja and stop Queen Brahne's belligerent behavior. What erupts becomes a battle between good and evil to save the world. Throw in some kooky and well-developed characters, a love story between Zidane and Garnet (mainly just flirtation),deep side quests, and there's the story of Final Fantasy 9 in a short bit. My problem with it is that there's no real conflict in the main characters. The distinction between good and evil is so blatantly obvious that it seems more like a storybook than an epic RPG. The characters each have one-sided personalities that, even though well-developed and distinct, unfold predictably. The story never really hits an amazing high that defines a great RPG. Mediocre storyline is weak, yet holds for its rich personality and flair.
Graphics:
Wow. Final Fantasy 9's graphics completely outdo all other RPG's. It may not look like much from little screenshots found in magazines, but seeing the game in motion is where the beauty is found. The backgrounds are creative, highly detailed, and eye-popping. Every last thing was painstakingly and carefully rendered. People that have a problem with the return to big heads are unbased in their reasoning, for FF9 emphasizes a return to the Final Fantasy roots, and the deformed characters actaully add a personality to the characters.
Sound:
No complaints here, really. Soothing music that is absent of truly brilliant tunes or themes. It more than suffices for an RPG, however, as it is varied and well-constructed. Just a little disappointing to move from complex and beautiful orchestrations (previous two Final Fantasies) to more simple and playful melodies.
Gameplay:
Return of the minigames and sidequests! That was a definite plus. Although I wasn't too enthusiastic about the card game, it was a simple diversion that I like more than the FF8 version (no stupid rules around the world either!). The chocobo side quests were enjoyable and well -developed. Although there aren't too many mini-games imbued to vary the action, they were present, and well-noted. An upsetting element was the amount of damage dealt. It's very disappointing to go from dealing around 80,000hp of damage from FF7 (knights of the round) and FF8 (Lionheart), to a measly 9,999 with Zidane's strongest attack. At level 50, my Zidane was only dealing about 2,000hp damage with his weapon, a major disappointment. level 30 characters barely even deal 1,000hp damage. It's hard to get the "epic RPG battle" feeling when you're not even dealing that much damage. You learn new abilities through weapons and acquiring skill points, which I found simple and unique. This stressed leveling up, an aspect of RPG's that many casual RPG gamers are not familiar with. When moving from area to area, you'll be expected to go out, fight on your own, and gain most of your levels that way. With Final Fantasy 7, you leveled up by just following the storyline. A plus that some gamers may enjoy is that the characters are not balanced: Vivi is strictly black magic, Steiner pure force, Eiko all protect and heal magic. This adds an element of strategy in choosing your party, because sometimes you might want an offensive party, sometimes a defensive.
Last Words:
Final Fantasy 9 is one amazing game. It's fresh taste is welcomed by the RPG world, for making the Final Fantasy fantasy setting beautiful. Characters are distinct, likeable, and novel. The battle system is simple and the graphics complex. There are notable flaws, such as a mediocre storyline, simple themes, simple tunes, truly a game for the not-so-serious RPG gamer. Excellent graphics and detail are truly amazing, yet the beautiful towns usually lack substance (they're essentially small and generic). Lots of side-quests will keep you going for a long time. Vast improvement on Final Fantasy 8, yet isn't qualified to take the "best Final Fantasy ever" title. Buy it if you want a simple, friendly RPG with depth and character.
